While talking about individual(rather than a team).Many developers, who are new to game development, makes the biggest mistake, of designing the view, of his/her project, first. That's definitely not how you start. You need a concept, and if you're not thinking about using a drag and drop, game engine like 3dRad, you must think, about how programming works, in this.Here are things, you should make sure :

*What are the problems, that you may encounter, during this project?*Is your current engine, good for this project?*When should I start thinking about, wrapping it up, with design view. Most developers, start, their games, with cubes, or spheres,cones according to what the game is.It is best, you make sure, a prototype is built. Add required features, then worry about, the user interface, and real ingame models.*When programming, keeping it clean, helps me find, where errors are. If you do proper documentation, Its really good for you.*I make sure, that, whenever, their a time limit, for any projects. I make a protoype, which should, carry all the hard parts, in the code. Then goto details... Work from "Whole to Parts".*And for inexperienced programmers, who gave multiplayer concept. Its better to learn multiplayer first, then move on to gameplay. Trust me, Its the toughest thing you will ever meet. ;)

Lets get back to the point, I've made 2 entries.One seems to be clicking well, and got some comments, as well.I'm going with that. Gameplay comes first. Lighting effects are important in this project. Mostly concentrating on giving a realistic experience to the gamer..:D